By Muhammad Syed
This week brings sobering reminders of the consequences of defying religious orthodoxy. In South Africa, the murder of Muhsin Hendricks—a pioneering figure who sought to reconcile Islam with LGBT+ rights—underscores the deadly risks of challenging doctrine. In London, a Qur’an-burning incident resulted in violence, and yet it is the attack victim who now faces charges for “religious harassment.” And in Tajikistan, the government’s attempt to curb Islam’s influence by dictating women’s dress is just another form of coercion. The fight for true freedom—of belief, speech, and personal autonomy—continues.
Unbelief Brief
Many of you will have already heard of the horrible news out of South Africa, where Muhsin Hendricks, one of Africa's few gay imams, and perhaps the most prominent, was shot dead. He had been in the city of Gqbehra (formerly Port Elizabeth), reportedly to officiate the marriage of an “interfaith heterosexual” couple, at the time of his murder. While no motive is officially confirmed, it beggars belief that his status as an important symbol of transgression against Islamic sexual mores while occupying a position of authority played no role. This is the saddening but easily predictable consequence of dissent, particularly in the realm of sex and gender roles, in a religion that encourages its violent punishment.
